Ulani's Hero
by HugeStoryLover
Summary: Ulani is a 4 year old little girl who has been shamed and chased away from her home Island. The reason why behind this cruel treatment of this 4 year old? A small mark on her face that looks like a cross between a purple bruise and a patch of fur. Ulani is now stranded on another island after falling into the sea, this one is made up of jungles and is mostly uninhabited but here
1. chapter 1

Four year old Ulani was running away from a crowd of villagers that carried Pitchforks.

But no matter how fast she ran the villagers seemed to be gaining on her, she found her way to the top of a cliff and realized she was at a dead end.

She was going to be killed by the villagers pitchforks.

She backs up further toward the edge desperately looking for some possible means of an escape one that maybe she had missed.

But then she made a terrible misstep and toppled backwards falling into the depths of the sea.

The ocean swirled around her as Ulani tried to fight the currents that held her firmly in its grasp.

It carried her far from the island pulling her under many times. Ulani feared she would soon drown and be lost to the sea for ever but somehow with the thought of death in her mind she found a sense of peace.

But just as Ulani had relaxed and made peace with the idea the Ocean rose up and spit her back out onto dry land.

Ulani lay there for a long moment catching her breath before standing up ready to run if anyone saw her and decided she was a bad omen to them.

Walking through the island she soon discovered that she didn't have too much of that to worry about because wherever she was it was nothing but jungle and seemed to have no sign of any other humans.

Relaxing she went from looking out for people to searching for food and warmth.

She had been trying to jump for a large mango hanging from a tree which hung just out of reach, when she caught the delicious scent of fish cooking on a spit.

But she hadn't seen any sign of their being humans about. She thought to herself.

Fear enveloped her less they discover her and the saw her for the curse that she was.

But hunger, curiosity and being cold drove her toward the smell.

If it was a human maybe she could manage to talk them out of a fish without them noticing the curse she had been born with.

Crouching behind a large bush, peering through it she sees a particularly large man sitting by the fire turning the spit that held four fish a large fire going underneath it.

She rubbed her growling belly hungrily trying to figure out how to get one.

She thought back and remembered a pig that had gotten into the crops and stole some of the corn.

Watching him once more she waited for an opening sure there might be a way to steal it.

And then the man turned his back on the fish his attention on a pile of firewood standing not far away but his attention was no longer on the fish.

Deciding this was the only chance she sprang from her hiding place and had just reached for the fish when the man happened to turn back around and he spotted her.

Withdrawing her hand she quickly backed away intending to run away.

But the man put out his hand and smiled "hey, it's okay don't be afraid but what is that on your face?"

Afraid of this man she fell back on her butt and started wailing.

Maui took her in his arms and just hugged her rubbing her back.

The kind act brought a halt to the wailing and she gazed up at him with confusion.

"Why you being nice to me? My face is disfigured." she asked suspiciously.

He looked at the girl's face for a few minutes, it was a large purple blotch across her left cheek, it looked almost like a cross between a patch of fur and a permanent bruise.

"it's okay you see you are by far the most beautiful child I've ever seen, I think that mark just gives you character and adds to your beauty." he said kindly.

Now that she had stopped crying he sat down in front of his spit with her on his lap.

Taking a couple fish off the spit he tested the heat first but then gave them to the child.

"Here, take these and go home." he ordered setting her off his knee.

Ulani was too ashamed to tell this nice man that she had no home so headed back into the trees on her own with the fish.


	2. chapter 2

Ulani climbed into a hollow of a tree where she swallowed the fish generously given to her by that kindly man.

She was cold without being close to a fire and was still wearing her very damp clothes.

She curled up shivering with cold, she was full now after having eat the two fish but she was not just cold she was very lonely.

Desperation decided to override her fearful mind as she crawled out of her hollowed out tree.

Walking quietly back to the camp she saw that the big man was fast asleep with the fire still going. He also wore a hide for a blanket.

Her observant eyes spotted the extra room under the hide rather easily.

She lifted a piece of wood off the pile and nearly dropped it as it was way to heavy for a girl her size. But she managed after a lot of tugs and pulls to slowly drag it to the fire and push it on top causing the fire to grow a bit bigger casting the camp with a lot more warmth.

That done she ignored all instincts to stay away and instead crawled over to the big guy and squeezed under his giant hide cuddling up as close as she could to him laying her cheek upon the man's chest where she could hear the steady, soothing sound of his heart beating.

There she fell fast asleep without a second thought.

Maui had been dead asleep when he slowly began to feel something very wet against his stomach.

He woke instantly thinking at first that it was raining but realized there was no water falling.

He then looks down by his chest believing the island had flooded.

But there nestled quietly against his chest was the same tiny slip of a child that had tried to steal fish from him earlier.

She was snuggled under part of his hide and was very damp and shivering violently with cold.

He was a bit concerned as he wondered where her mother was. He looked around the camp in case she was only a few feet away but saw no sign in the immediate area that she was anywhere around.

He knew he ought to wake the young girl and escort her home but the poor girl looked so tuckered out and cold that he decided he would let the child sleep and take her home in the morning.

Even though he was very taken aback by this little action of the child he found it very heartwarming, he loved humans but most of all he loved children.

He lay a bit more of his hide over the child even though it now left half of his own body in the cold.

Smiling her crooked an arm around her to keep anything dangerous from hurting her and slipped back to sleep.

Throughout the night he kept waking himself up to check on the child fearful lest he were to accidentally roll over and hurt her as he was so big and she so incredibly small.

By the time morning light came he was exhausted even for a demigod. The child was still snoozing next to him .

Careful to not crush her or hurt her he gently removed her head from his chest as well as his other arm.

Bending over the girl he shook her as gently as possible.

The child's brown eyes blink open and gazes up at him with a confidence that hadn't been displayed earlier.

"Hi, I think it's time I took you home." he suggested kindly.

The little girl sat up and refused to look at him as she responded.

"But but you can't take me home."

Maui raised an eyebrow "And why ever not?"

The child hung her head "I have no home to go back to."

Maui was suspicious "now everyone has family everyone has a home."

"Not me, my family don't want me, they say I'm cursed and they tried to kill me with pitchforks." she admitted.

Maui thought about his own mother who had so carelessly thrown him into the ocean.

His heart ached for the poor kid as he pulled him into his chest.

A thought came to him.

"But maybe I can find somebody that will take you into their home, in fact I have friend that's newly engaged to be married she and her intended might just want a baby girl of their own." He offered her.

"Are you sure they won't hate my marked face?" she asked fearfully.

Maui scooped her up and hugs her once more.

"Child.."then he stopped.

"It just occured to me that I don't really know your name." he admitted softly.

"my name is Ulani, I'm four years old." she was quick to inform him holding a tiny hand out.

Maui took it with only a thumb and forefinger and shakes her tiny hand as gently as possible.

"It's my pleasure to meet you Ulani, I am Maui, demigod of the wind and sea."

"Now Ulani as I was saying there's absolutely nothing wrong with your face. It's beautiful and uniquely you." he told her.

Ulani broke into a smile as her heart easily latches onto the only person that had never seen her mark as a disfigurement.

"Now let's get you to this friend of mine, if I know my Moana she wouldn't mind taking a homeless unwanted little girl into her home."

Ulani wasn't complaining as he carried her towards the boats.


	3. chapter 3

Maui set her on a boat and watches her gently to be sure she wouldn't fall off the boat.

Steering the boat he easily gets it going, it was time to pay his friend a visit and maybe give her a little girl to raise with her new fiance.

Ulani watched Maui with adoring eyes as he now sat keeping an eye on the boat.

Ulani crawls over to him and snuggles into his lap without asking.

Maui looked down in surprise his heart melting at the sight of how comfortable she was with him.

He allowed her to sit on his lap and cuddle as the sea lulls her to sleep.

He gently pets her hair, unknown to him he was already losing his heart to this sweet little girl.

He felt sad at how easily she had been tossing away just like himself. But how can these humans be so heartless?

After a while she leaves his lap and crawls towards the edge to check out a fin that had just appeared in the water.

Maui watched in pure horror as she reaches over the boat to look.

Maui reached out and snatched her back just as a large three foot flat headed shark's head came up snapping the air where her innocent hand had just been.

Holding her close he breathed a sigh of relief.

He set her back down and rechecked his calculations.

The child had returned to the edge of the boat but this time she just watched the water with curiosity.

A large monster bird swooped out of the air and snatched her into it's claws taking off with her as fast as she could.

Setting his teeth he transformed with his hook into a hawk following the screams of Ulani.

Ulani tried to fight against the bird doing her best to try and make it drop her.

She was crying again scared of where it would take her.

She saw with even more fear a small Hawk heading purposely for them.

And then the Hawk and the bird monster we're fighting beak to claw with each other.

At last the bird lost concentration and the grip was loosened down she fell deep into the ocean.

Ulani couldn't really swim, before the water had only put her back on land by pure luck.

She was sinking, she was drowning.

The last thing she saw was Maui swimming down to get her before she completely blacks out.

Maui in whale form lifts her from the water on his back and easily deposits her back onto the boat.

Transforming back into himself he cuddles her in his arms afraid he'd been to slow.

A good gentle thump against her chest with only a thumb she spits up the water and breathes.

Maui hugged her tight relaxing now that he had her safe.

Setting her down he looked her in the eye "okay new rule, there will be no more of going that close to the edge of the boat you are to stay close to me until we reach our destination."

Ulani nodded gazing up at him with a new expression on her face one that Maui was not quite able to decipher.

"Thank you Maui for saving me." Ulani was grateful and was beginning to fall in love with this big man.

She snuggled on his lap again, shivering from her damp wet clothes.

Maui tried his best to hold her and keep her warm.


End file.
